Tampa Bay Lightning name Victor Hedman captain

The Tampa Bay Lightning announced on Wednesday that they have named defenseman Victor Hedman the captain of the team.

Hedman replaced Steven Stamkos as the captain after the Lightning opted to let Stamkos walk to free agency, where he then signed with the Nashville Predators. Hedman has served as the alternate captain for the previous seven seasons and was the longest to hold that role, so naturally he was the ideal candidate to replace Stamkos. He will be the 11th captain in the history of the franchise.

“We are thrilled to have Victor leading our team as the 11^th captain in franchise history,” said Lightning vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois. “Victor is a cornerstone player that is extremely well respected by his teammates, coaches and peers across the NHL. Over the past 15 seasons, he has been a world-class representative for our organization both on and off the ice. Victor embodies what it means to be a member of the Tampa Bay Lightning and is more than ready for this exciting opportunity. We are looking forward to watching him flourish in his new role as we continue to work towards our goal of winning the Stanley Cup.”

The Lightning also announced that the alternate captains for the 2024-25 season will be winger Nikita Kucherov, who will have the role for a second straight season, and defenseman Ryan McDonagh, who had an alternate captain position for all four of his full seasons with the Lightning from 2018 to 2022.

Hedman is coming off of one of his most productive seasons in 2023-24, where he had 13 goals and 63 assists for 76 points in 78 games. He also had 1 goal and 6 assists for 7 points in 5 playoff games as the Lightning were eliminated in the first round by the Florida Panthers.

Hedman was the second-overall pick for the Lightning in the 2009 NHL Draft, and after quickly establishing an NHL role for himself the following season, he’s spent the entirety of his 15-season career in Tampa Bay. Over the course of his career, he’s won a Norris Trophy in 2017-18 and two Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021, also capturing a Conn Smythe Trophy during the 2020 win.

Along with getting the “C” on his chest, Hedman also signed a new contract, as his current eight-year deal with a $7.875 million cap hit was coming to an end after this season. His new contract locks him up for four more years at an $8 million cap hit.

The Lightning will look to return to Stanley Cup contention after exiting in the first round for the past two seasons. They made some big changes this offseason, including moving on from Stamkos and Mikhail Sergachev and replacing them with Jake Guentzel and McDonagh, as well as bringing in Cam Atkinson, J.J. Moser and Zemgus Girgensons. They have just over $1.5 million in cap space, with their only restricted free agents being Waltteri Merela and Hugo Alnefelt.